Plane makes emergency landing at ILM

WILMINGTON -- It was a tense scramble at Wilmington International Airport Thursday night. Emergency crews responded to ILM in force after the captain of a Virgin Atlantic jet carrying 303 passengers and 18 crew members radioed in that the floor of his plane had gotten very hot near the galley. Officials thought there might be a fire down below and the plane was carrying corrosive material in the cargo hold. The flight was headed from Miami to London's Heathrow Airport when it was diverted to ILM. The plane landed smoothly around 10:15 p.m. with emergency crews waiting.
Once the plane was on the ground, crews did an external visual inspection and saw nothing out of the ordinary, then carefully checked the inside.
Passengers are staying at hotels around Wilmington. A crew from Virgin Atlantic is expected to arrive in Wilmington Friday morning to check out the plane. It's hoped the plane can continue its trip around 6 p.m.
No word yet on what may have caused the plane's floor to heat up.

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